John Gary was an accomplished singer -- a baritone with a three-octave range that could reach to soprano. Elvis apparently had a great appreciation for such vocalists (i.e. Sherrill Nielsen). And Gary's theme song was ... "Softly As I Leave You."

John Gary "Softly As I Leave You" The Nearness of You (RCA 3349, July 2, 1965)

Billboard Jul 10 1965 p56.JPG

Billboard - July 10, 1965

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Last edited by drjohncarpenter on Tue May 14, 2013 10:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Thu May 09, 2013 10:11 pm

John Gary has a good voice but prefer Matt Munro's version of this. Wish Elvis had done the vocals on this one himself instead of leaving it to Sherrill

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Fri May 10, 2013 12:19 am

It looks to me to be closer to Jan 74.

Firstly, here's a photo of Elvis wearing the same jacket in Jan 74 on his way to rehearsals. Secondly, here's a well known photo with Joe Guercio, and another in his dressing room with his hair looking very similar to this pic. I think he's wearing the same necklace in the photo in his dressing room, the photo with Joe and also the photo Tony Posted, again, pointing to the same date in early 74.

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Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Fri May 10, 2013 9:41 am

picture with john gary is not dec 75 i,m surtain of thathe wears a tooth around his neck on a neckles en he worethis in 1973 en the picture is not in vegas there he diddent where that neckless in in august i think it,s in june

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Fri May 10, 2013 11:14 am

Swagers,

I initially thought it was the shark tooth necklace too, but I don't think it is - I think it's the necklace he's wearing in the 2 1974 photos I posted - the chain looks exactly the same.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Fri May 10, 2013 2:04 pm

that,s possible but dec 75 what was sead it is notand that i am surten offbut i still think its 73 because how elvis looks

jan

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Fri May 10, 2013 2:28 pm

Hi Jan - we both agree it's definitely not December 75. Could do with Scott Hayward or Brian stopping by to cast their expert eye over it!

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Fri May 10, 2013 2:35 pm

swagers wrote:that,s possible but dec 75 what was sead it is notand that i am surten offbut i still think its 73 because how elvis looks

jan

I have to agree. Elvis looks like he's wearing the "Lion Claw" necklace around his neck. Whatever the date, it's still an interesting photo. At first, I honestly thought it was a PhotoShopped picture because of the difference in how Elvis looks and the difference in how John Gary looks. Elvis just looks very eerie in the photo because of being able to see the whites of his eyes....it's just...spooky....

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 1:28 am

Tony Trout wrote:I have to agree. Elvis looks like he's wearing the "Lion Claw" necklace around his neck. Whatever the date, it's still an interesting photo. At first, I honestly thought it was a PhotoShopped picture because of the difference in how Elvis looks and the difference in how John Gary looks. Elvis just looks very eerie in the photo because of being able to see the whites of his eyes....it's just...spooky....

Your image was also distorted. Hope you enjoyed the time I put in to answer to your question.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 7:02 am

Tony Trout wrote:

swagers wrote:that,s possible but dec 75 what was sead it is notand that i am surten offbut i still think its 73 because how elvis looks

jan

I have to agree. Elvis looks like he's wearing the "Lion Claw" necklace around his neck. Whatever the date, it's still an interesting photo. At first, I honestly thought it was a PhotoShopped picture because of the difference in how Elvis looks and the difference in how John Gary looks. Elvis just looks very eerie in the photo because of being able to see the whites of his eyes....it's just...spooky....

In a sense, it was Photoshop'ed, in that someone apparently used the "warp" function. They wished to thin the face. And didn't do a very good job. A Facebook thing.

Nowadays, poor digital cameras can produce a distorted face/body image, but if you use "lens correction" under the filters menu - in Photoshop, you can set it straight. That's not what happened here, though. It was manipulated, and not for the purpose of correction.

rjm

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 7:14 am

rjm wrote:

Tony Trout wrote:

swagers wrote:that,s possible but dec 75 what was sead it is notand that i am surten offbut i still think its 73 because how elvis looks

jan

I have to agree. Elvis looks like he's wearing the "Lion Claw" necklace around his neck. Whatever the date, it's still an interesting photo. At first, I honestly thought it was a PhotoShopped picture because of the difference in how Elvis looks and the difference in how John Gary looks. Elvis just looks very eerie in the photo because of being able to see the whites of his eyes....it's just...spooky....

In a sense, it was Photoshop'ed, in that someone apparently used the "warp" function. They wished to thin the face. And didn't do a very good job. A Facebook thing.

Nowadays, poor digital cameras can produce a distorted face/body image, but if you use "lens correction" under the filters menu - in Photoshop, you can set it straight. That's not what happened here, though. It was manipulated, and not for the purpose of correction.

rjm

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Why keep referring to Tony's pic when doc posted the corrected image?

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 7:41 am

promiseland wrote:

rjm wrote:

Tony Trout wrote:

swagers wrote:that,s possible but dec 75 what was sead it is notand that i am surten offbut i still think its 73 because how elvis looks

jan

I have to agree. Elvis looks like he's wearing the "Lion Claw" necklace around his neck. Whatever the date, it's still an interesting photo. At first, I honestly thought it was a PhotoShopped picture because of the difference in how Elvis looks and the difference in how John Gary looks. Elvis just looks very eerie in the photo because of being able to see the whites of his eyes....it's just...spooky....

In a sense, it was Photoshop'ed, in that someone apparently used the "warp" function. They wished to thin the face. And didn't do a very good job. A Facebook thing.

Nowadays, poor digital cameras can produce a distorted face/body image, but if you use "lens correction" under the filters menu - in Photoshop, you can set it straight. That's not what happened here, though. It was manipulated, and not for the purpose of correction.

rjm

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Why keep referring to Tony's pic when doc posted the corrected image?

I thought it might offer an explanation as to how it ended up on Facebook in that condition. So perhaps people would be on the lookout for such photos - photos that were tampered with. (Even the eyes are exaggerated.)

A warning about images floating about Facebook.

rjm

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 4:04 pm

rjm wrote:

promiseland wrote:

rjm wrote:

Tony Trout wrote:

swagers wrote:that,s possible but dec 75 what was sead it is notand that i am surten offbut i still think its 73 because how elvis looks

jan

I have to agree. Elvis looks like he's wearing the "Lion Claw" necklace around his neck. Whatever the date, it's still an interesting photo. At first, I honestly thought it was a PhotoShopped picture because of the difference in how Elvis looks and the difference in how John Gary looks. Elvis just looks very eerie in the photo because of being able to see the whites of his eyes....it's just...spooky....

In a sense, it was Photoshop'ed, in that someone apparently used the "warp" function. They wished to thin the face. And didn't do a very good job. A Facebook thing.

Nowadays, poor digital cameras can produce a distorted face/body image, but if you use "lens correction" under the filters menu - in Photoshop, you can set it straight. That's not what happened here, though. It was manipulated, and not for the purpose of correction.

rjm

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

Why keep referring to Tony's pic when doc posted the corrected image?

I thought it might offer an explanation as to how it ended up on Facebook in that condition. So perhaps people would be on the lookout for such photos - photos that were tampered with. (Even the eyes are exaggerated.)

Doc: I do appreciate you posting the correct image. It's been another sad day for me...I lost another friend that I'd met on Christian Rock band, Third Day's, messageboards. She passed from bronchial pneumonia after being bedridden for some time....

This has been a truly SUCKY year for me so far....*sigh*

DarrylMac wrote:It looks to me to be closer to Jan 74.

Firstly, here's a photo of Elvis wearing the same jacket in Jan 74 on his way to rehearsals. Secondly, here's a well known photo with Joe Guercio, and another in his dressing room with his hair looking very similar to this pic. I think he's wearing the same necklace in the photo in his dressing room, the photo with Joe and also the photo Tony Posted, again, pointing to the same date in early 74.

Darryl,

If I'm not mistaken, that photo of Elvis in the purple-ish jacket is actually from 1975.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 6:23 pm

Darryl,

If I'm not mistaken, that photo of Elvis in the purple-ish jacket is actually from 1975.

Hi Tony - it's a well known candid from our own Candid Central, dated Jan 12th 1974 leaving for LA to start rehearsals for the upcoming Vegas season. When Paul has such a precise date on a candid, it's almost always correct. I'm positive the photo with John Gary dates from that vegas season too - I don't think it is the shark tooth / lion claw neckalce from 1973 he's wearing there, but the necklace he wears with Joe Guercio and in his dressing room with Shiela. You can see it again here, and the chain is identical in all the pics, including the one you / the Doc posted.

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Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sat May 11, 2013 7:56 pm

Tony Trout wrote:Doc: I do appreciate you posting the correct image.

That's cool, but the most important thing is I (thoroughly) answered your question about who was with Elvis in the photo: John Gary.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sun May 12, 2013 5:43 pm

DarrylMac wrote:

Darryl,

If I'm not mistaken, that photo of Elvis in the purple-ish jacket is actually from 1975.

Hi Tony - it's a well known candid from our own Candid Central, dated Jan 12th 1974 leaving for LA to start rehearsals for the upcoming Vegas season. When Paul has such a precise date on a candid, it's almost always correct. I'm positive the photo with John Gary dates from that vegas season too - I don't think it is the shark tooth / lion claw neckalce from 1973 he's wearing there, but the necklace he wears with Joe Guercio and in his dressing room with Shiela. You can see it again here, and the chain is identical in all the pics, including the one you / the Doc posted.

Darryl,

Thanks for posting that image. I guess I just forgot and thought that it looked like a shot from 1975 because of the hairstyle.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Sun May 12, 2013 7:04 pm

No probs Tony. I know what you mean about the hair, but it looks to me to be identical to the way it looks in the photos with Joe Guercio, and the one taken in his dressing room.

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Tue May 14, 2013 6:16 pm

DarrylMac wrote:

Darryl,

If I'm not mistaken, that photo of Elvis in the purple-ish jacket is actually from 1975.

Hi Tony - it's a well known candid from our own Candid Central, dated Jan 12th 1974 leaving for LA to start rehearsals for the upcoming Vegas season. When Paul has such a precise date on a candid, it's almost always correct. I'm positive the photo with John Gary dates from that vegas season too - I don't think it is the shark tooth / lion claw neckalce from 1973 he's wearing there, but the necklace he wears with Joe Guercio and in his dressing room with Shiela. You can see it again here, and the chain is identical in all the pics, including the one you / the Doc posted.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1368544597.556908.jpg

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Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Tue May 14, 2013 8:05 pm

Haha - thanks for a laugh Paul, can't beat Borat!

Re: Who Is This With Elvis?

Tue May 14, 2013 10:35 pm

Here's a 1988 interview with Gary where he describes their meeting in detail:

"He was such a sweet man. He knew all my songs, and it turned out that Arthur Prysock, Robert Merrill and I were his three favorite singers. He said, 'If I could just sing like you' -- and I idolized him, so you can imagine how that made me feel. The first time we met, he showed me all these cards from his wallet, his karate card, the FBI card, his driver's license, like I was his dad or something, and then he sang 'Unchained Melody' with all the vocal tricks I used, as if to say 'See, I really do know your singing.'"